Take Me To Your Leader...

Don't look directly into Bailey's eyes - she might just put you under her control! Clearly, she's already got us under her spell...

Bailey Breakthrough!

I'm sure this picture isn't that extraordinary to you. But to us, it's quite meaningful. This picture shows Bailey at the top of our stairs. Although this isn't a remarkable feat, it certainly was for Bailey. This weekend, marked the first time she accomplished this. For some reason, she got very scared going up the stairs as a small puppy and would whine once making it half way up. Then, we put up a "puppy gate" to keep her from going up the stairs. But after we realized she was too afraid to make the trek upstairs (or more importantly, back down), we took the gate down. She never even tried going up the stairs. She would just sit at the bottom and whine. Eventually, she started to stand on the landing and stretch her front legs up four or five stairs. But, she could never get those hind legs off the ground. Recently, she became more adventurous. When she got really excited, she would get a running start and try to come up after us. But as she soon realized she was a few stairs off the ground, she would quickly come back down. Over the weekend, she made it half way up and started whining. I did what any normal pet owner would do. I encouraged her to come up. We've done this before to no avail. But for some reason, she decided it was high time she give it a try. And, she made it! Ever since, she has become my shadow and follows me EVERYWHERE. Although we are quite proud of her, this new skill of hers has its drawbacks - Until this past weekend, the upstairs (where our bedroom is) had been our sanctuary, our Bailey-free, hair-free, drool-free zone. Alas, no more. No more.

Wedding Season - Part 1

Ah, weddings. Even after being married for nearly three years, I still enjoy them. One would think after going through all of the prepartions for my own wedding, that I would be "over" it by now. But, I guess it's the creative person/event planner in me that enjoys seeing how people express their own individual style. And, needless to say, it's even better to see people express their love and commitment to each other.

Now that spring is in the air (sort of anyway - it was only 40 degrees yesterday) it's fitting that Saturday marked the official start of our 2008 wedding season. We have at least four weddings marked on the calendar so far. This rivals 2004 - the year of the wedding. That year, I think we were in three weddings and attended two or three more, making for a grand total of at least FIVE weddings. I guess now we're experiencing the second wave of friends and family getting married. At least this time around, we get to be attendees, which means we get to kick back and enjoy the fun!

All that being said, here is a look at our first wedding of 2008 - Tim and Laura Engles! Tim (or "Timmy" as we call him) is a fraternity brother of Garth's. It was a fun wedding because a lot of our friends were there.

Here comes the bride....and groom!

Timmy and Laura enter the reception to a big round of applause.

The "brothers" pose for a pic - Blair, Garth, Timmy and Petro

It's a Phi Delta Theta tradition to serenade the bride of their fraternity brother. Surprisingly, these guys are quite good!

I wouldn't be me if I didn't take at least SOME pictures of the decor. The colors were chocolate brown and turqoise. The tables had white tulips and turquoise runners. Isn't the cake pretty?

And, of course, here's Garth and I. I never pass up the chance to get a picture of us dressed up. :)

Like a Pro!

Thanks to my mom (and Marcie's parents who graciously hosted us), we had a quick photo shoot for our 6-Pak Reunion in KC last weekend. We took similar pictures our senior year of college. It's hard to believe that was six years ago! Needless to say, it was time for newer photos to hang on the wall.

I got the film in the mail yesterday and just got the photos developed today. So, after a week filled with anticipation, I present you with our semi-professional 6-Pak photos! Below are some of my favorites. The rest of the "professional" photos and the rest from the weekend can be viewed here. Thanks, mom! We think you're a pro! :)

I'll Take a 6-Pak

Once upon a time, there were six girls who lived in a dorm. They were freshman at the University of Missouri and each of them had decided to join a sorority and go through rush (or, as it is called now, "recruitment"). Going through that experience and navigating the first week of school can really bring girls together. So, within about two weeks time, they decided they were the best of friends and decided to call the themselves, "The 6 Pak". Corny, yes. But the name has stuck to this day.

Flash forward almost 10 years, and you have 6 women who are scattered throughout the country. After college, weddings became the venue for getting together. Since it's been a while since that happened (2005 to be exact), the group decided it was high time to get together. So, this past weekend, I flew to Kansas City to hang out with my friends. It's amazing how much has changed (4 weddings and 2 babies), but yet how much each of us has stayed the same. All that being said, I'm proud to introduce "The 6-Pak!"

Meet Miss Mary...

When Mary and I first met, we bonded over pageants (or queen contests as I called them) and my need for a wardrobe update. She took me under her wing and showed me her stylish ways! She has made a career out of being stylish as she has her dream job working as an event planner for Nordstrom in Chicago. She came to KC for the weekend to put on an accessory "style party" and we came to see her in action. It was quite fun and she did a fantastic job!

Meet Virginia (aka VGEG, Gee or Ratty)...

Virginia and I were roommates freshman year of college. We went "potluck" and were so lucky we ended up with each other! Admittedly, when we talked on the phone before school started, I didn't know what to make of her Southern accent! Virgina is from Charleston (Missouri, not South Carolina), which is in the bootheel of the state. Virginia now lives in St. Louis and works for Lutheran Family Services as a fundraising event planner. In this picture, Virginia shows how she can rub her head and pat her belly at the same time (or is it the other way around?).

Meet Marcie...

Marcie is our "Golden Girl." Our freshman year, she joined the Golden Girls, Mizzou's prestigious dance squad. We were quite proud of her...and still are! After college, she returned to Kansas City to marry Ryan, her high school sweetheart. Marcie is an ER nurse and loves it! During the weekend, we got to visit Marcie's house and meet their adorable dog named Truman, who is named in honor of Mizzou's mascot.

Meet Sara (aka Pencil)...

Sara and Marcie, high school classmates, lived together in the dorm our freshman year of college. I think I met the two when asking to borrow a pen or pencil (though, that's not how she got the nickname). Sara is a kindergarten teacher in Kansas City. She and her husband, Alan, have been married for almost four years and they are the proud parents of Miss Anna Grace. Here is mommy and baby. And no, they didn't plan to have match their outfits. But isn't it cute anyway?

Meet Breck...

Breck is the inquisitor. I guess that's why she came all the way from Louisiana to go to Mizzou's journalism school. When we all met Breck, she sat us down and had to ask us all the deep, dark questions to get to know us better. Even though Breck's no longer a journalist, she still manages to ask all the questions! Breck and her husband, Brian, live in Durham, NC. A former teacher, Breck now owns a tutoring franchise so she can stay home with their baby, Oliver Brian. Here she is playing teacher as she reads a book to us in Sara's nursery.

Baby Bonanza!

We were excited that Breck and Sara were able to bring their new additions to our reunion weekend. Meet Oliver and Anna! Aren't they cute!?

Mommies and Babies

Sara, Anna, Breck and Oliver at lunch

This is four of us before dinner. And yes, we all decided to wear black on purpose. My mom was so kind to take pictures of all 6 of us. Once I have those, I'll post them too! All in all, this is just a small sample of the great time we had! I have many more photos, but I'll spare you the details. However, feel free to click here to see them all.

Girls Night = Totally Blogworthy

It's possible I'm addited to our new blog. But if you ask me, the reinstitution of girls night is totally blogworthy. Girls night (the original version) began about 5 years ago. My roommate and I decided that if our significant others could have guy night, that we deserved to have a girl version. And, the fact that the final season of Friends was airing at the time seemed the perfect reason to get together.

Flash forward five years and I realized that even though I had been back in Nashville for a year, I still wasn't getting to see my gal pals very much. Given the fact that we had all either gotten married, engaged or into serious relationships certainly didn't help. So, it was time to bring back the institution of girls night. We have some new faces this time and some that were missing, but here is the official beginning of our Girls Night Redux.

We met up at Rumours Wine bar, which was the perfect girly location. It's just too bad it wasn't warm enough for the patio. Perhaps for our next girls night (can we say Cinco de Mayo?) the weather will be patio perfect. Nevertheless, we had a good time. Here is our group - Katie, Cara, Jan and Laura.

Illinois Tiemans Visit Nashville

Laura's family from Illinois spent their Spring Break in Nashville. We all met up at Dave and Buster's for some arcade fun with the boys. It's always great to see them when they come through town!

Here's Aunt Sharon, Cousin Philip and Uncle Larry. As Aunt Sharon always says, "Are we having fun yet?!" Of course, we usually are. :)

Meet the cousins...

Phil, Andrew and Jon had a blast playing the games at Dave and Buster's!